Mesut Dursun

Assessment of the place of tubular reabsorption of phosphorus in the diagnosis of osteopenia of prematurity

AIM In this study, we aimed to investigate the utility of tubular reabsorption of phosphorus in the diagnosis of osteopenia of prematurity in addition to biochemical markers. MATERIALS AND METHOD Premature babies with a gestational age of ≤32 weeks and/or a birth weight of ≤1 500 g who were hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit between June 2009 and March 2011 were included in the study. These babies were evaluated at the 40th gestational week and serum calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, urea, creatinine, urinary calcium and phosphorus levels were measured and tubular reabsorption of phosphorus was determined. The subjects who had bone graphy findings and/or an alkaline phosphatase level of >400IU/L and a phosphorus value of <3.5 mg/dL were considered osteopenic. The levels of tubular reabsorption of phosphorus of the osteopenic patients were compared with the ones of the non-osteopenic patients. The study was initiated after obtaining ethics committee approval (date: 04.29.2009/213). RESULTS During the study period, a total of 698 premature babies were hospitalized in our neonatology unit. A diagnosis of osteopenia of prematurity was made in 24 of 190 subjects who met the study criteria. The level of tubular reabsorption of phosphorus was compared with the serum calcium, phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase levels measured at the 40th gestational week and alkaline phosphatase was found to be significantly increased in the group with a high tubular reabsorption of phosphorus (≥%95). When the subjects with a phosphorus level of <3.5 mg/dL and an alkaline phosphatase level of >499 IU were compared with the newborns who were found to have a tubular reabsorption of phosphorus of ≥%95 for the objective of evaluating the specificity and sensitivity of tubular reabsorption of phosphorus, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of tubular reabsorption of phosphorus in the diagnosis of osteopenia were found to be 27%, 82%, 17% and 89%, respectively. When the osteopenic and non-osteopenic patients were compared in terms of the levels of tubular reabsorption of phosphorus, no statistically significant difference was found. CONCLUSIONS It was thought that it was not appropriate to use tubular reabsorption of phosphorus alone in the diagnosis of osteopenia of prematurity.

A comparison of the effects of invasive mechanic ventilation/surfactant therapy and non-invasive nasal-continuous positive airway pressure in preterm newborns

Abstract Aims: This study compared the early-term outcomes of mechanical ventilation (MV)/surfactant treatment with nasal-continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) in preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Materials and methods: Data from newborns born between ≥24 and ≤32 weeks of gestation, hospitalized at our newborn intensive care unit, and diagnosed with RDS between January 2009 and February 2012 were analyzed. Results: Of 193 newborns with RDS who were enrolled in the study, 113 were treated with nCPAP and 80 with MV at a level of 57.5% of nCPAP. Within the study group, 46.3% of the infants were female. The mean gestation of the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) group was 29.07 ± 1.99 weeks; that of the MV group was 28.61 ± 2.01 weeks. The birth weight was 1321.1 ± 325.4 g and 1240.3 ± 366.1 g; however, the difference between the two groups was not significant. MV was not required in 54.9% of the patients with nCPAP treatment. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) developed in 20 (18.7%) patients in the nCPAP group and 18 (24.4%) patients in the MV group; the difference was not significant (p = .351). Between 2009 and 2012, nCPAP was used at a rate of 33.9, 70.8, 68.4, and 69%. The risk factors for developing BPD were low gestation week, duration of intubation, and proven sepsis (p = .0001, p = .004, and p = .011, respectively). Conclusions: Early nCPAP treatment in preterm infants (≤32 weeks of gestation) decreases both the need for MV and the use of surfactant, but without a significant effect on BPD development. (No. 2016/324)